Hi! My name is Clara and I’m one of the Childsplay Kid Reporters for the 2017 season!

Recently I saw “A Christmas Carol” starring Katie McFadzen as she narrated and acted single-handedly for an entire 80 minute performance. Let’s not forget about everybody else that made this show possible though! They couldn’t have done it without the director, Matthew Wiener. Or the costume designer, Kish Finnegan. Of course you also need the lighting designer, Cody Soper, sound designer, Brian Jerome Peterson, and stage manager, Sarah G. Chanis who also took me on a wonderful backstage tour!

Now let’s talk about the show. It was amazing! The lights, set, and costumes were all so cool! I loved how every sound effect matched up with Ms. McFadzen’s actions perfectly. Not to mention that she hardly ever had a chance to take a breath between every sentence she had memorized! I loved the play and I hope you do too.

What’s your favorite word? Mine is ‘bravo’! It’s a word used to express approval when a person has done something well! Childsplay’s current play The Phantom Tollbooth deserves the word bravo, as well as, the words exciting, hilarious, curious, and the number 47, which is the number of times I laughed during the show! The Phantom Tollbooth is the boredom-busting show of the season.

Hi! I’m Brady, Childsplay Kid Reporter for Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure. Meeting everyone and seeing the set up close was so cool! (The show was cool enough before I got to see how they did it. I’m here to tell you all about it.

Did you know that one wall backstage was completely covered in cables and pulley systems to pull curtains and fun set pieces, and that they were all controlled by one person during the show?!

The backstage area in the Mainstage wasvery different from their smaller theater where I saw The Yellow Boat. Though there was more room, there was something new everywhere you turned. First there was all the pulley systems (like I said earlier), next was the costuming/quick change area. There were tables with mirrors and wigs on the table and racks with the actual costumes to the side of that. Next, right before you enter the stage, there were prop carts with all the cool props and handheld things they used during the show. On stage, there was a big tree with a chandelier, a white sheet acting as a rabbit hole, and a tea table. There were also musical instruments like guitars, pianos, and even a drum set! And everywhere there were secret areas onstage where people put small handheld percussion instruments and small props.

The question that I was most interested in asking was “Did you know how to play the instrument you played in the show before you came to the show and when did you learn?” Most of the cast answered that they did know how to play their instruments before theycame, but Lauren (The Red Queen) said she didn’t know how to play the bass before she came which was so surprising because she and the rest of the cast was awesome!

I really hope you come to see Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure before Childsplay moves on to their next magnificent show!